The Trump administration has put a freeze on federal grants, loans, and other financial assistance that experts say could have significant impacts on Americans.
The Office of Management and Budget sent out a memo on Monday ordering that federal agencies pause federal financial assistance to allow President Trump and his administration to review whether the aid is consistent with his policies.
It’s unclear how this will impact Americans, but what is clear in the memo is that the Trump administration is looking to cut “financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the Green New Deal.”
The funding freeze could affect trillions of dollars. It could also cause mass disruptions in healthcare research, education programs, and other initiatives, the Associated Press reported.
College Grants and SNAP Benefits Could Be A Part of Federal Loans Freeze
While the memo explicitly states that Medicare and Social Security benefits will not be affected; experts warn, however, that food assistance and student loans could be impacted by Trump’s freeze order. Experts are paying close attention to the Pell Grant program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Women, Infants, and Children program, which could all be frozen.
“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” said a memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Vaeth said that “each agency must complete a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders.”
The pause is temporary and expected to take effect at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 28. It’s unclear how long the freeze will last, but agencies must submit information on such programs by Feb. 10, according to the memo.
In the meantime, Democrats and Independents are criticizing Trump’s orders.
“More lawlessness and chaos in America as Donald Trump’s Administration blatantly disobeys the law by holding up virtually all vital funds that support programs in every community across the country,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York.
New York Attorney General Letitia James called Trump’s latest move “reckless.”
“This administration’s pause on federal funding is reckless and
dangerous. Programs in communities across the entire nation depend on this funding to support our families, and this action is only going to hurt them,” she wrote on X.RELATED CONTENT: John Hope Bryant Gives Albany State University $1.8M Grant For 70 Aspiring Entrepreneurs